Xenogamy
by Totally Unoriginal Pen Name
Summary: Chroniclization of Pokémon Y. Collin is a cynical kid who keeps to himself. When he and his family move to Kalos and he meets a lot of new people of different shapes and sizes, will he ever be able to open up to someone, even if it is a Pokémon?
1. The Genesis

**CHAPTER ONE: The Genesis**

* * *

His life was never ordinary. His mom was a critically acclaimed Rhyhorn racer, his dad an actor in the PokeStar studio in Unova. Of course, they moved a lot. Collin never really had any other family. The closest he got was his mom's Rhyhorn, Andrew, and the family pet, their annoying Fletchling, Fletcher.

Something was tapping on his head. Grumpily, Collin reached out to seat it away, and the tapping had stopped for a moment. But it returned only a few minutes later. He moaned, opening a eye.

Fletcher cocked it's head to the left, pure innocence written in its eyes.

Collin sighed. His own personal alarm clock was never late. It also meant his Mom wanted to get up. He stretched, yawning, opening his curtains.

Below his window stood two of the neighborhood girls. He scowled, closing his curtains. _Them again,_ he thought angrily. Those two girls have been appearing at his house for the past three days. They haven't left yet, and it was annoying Collin.

Ignoring them, he got to his closely, and pulled out a simple outfit; his usual black t-shirt, a blue jacket, jeans, and his red cap. He even zipped up the entire collar of his jacket, only to stay warm. Making sure that he wouldn't forget, Collin put the hearing aids, which always laid on his nightstand, in, tuning it to the comfortable level.

He didn't like people to notice it, and was very grateful his Mom hasn't pestered him into getting a haircut. The hair that went down to his shoulders, covering his ears completely, was just right for him.

Overall, he thought he dressed himself nicely today. Collin ran down the stairs, jumping over the last three, and gave his Mom a smile. She didn't smile back.

"Collin, when are you going to go out and see the world?" She asked. "You can't stay inside forever."

"What if I want to?" He replied coldly.

His mom, used to his tone, sighed. "Well, fine, if you just want to lay on your butt the whole life, fine by me. But you need to go out eventually."

Collin ignored her, he was thinking of his life back in Kanto. The taunting voices of would-be friends haunted his life. The only person he trusted was his Dad, who was never home.

"Well, you're going outside today whether you want to or not." His mom stated. Collin looked up from the couch in alarm.

"What?!" He tried to protest, but his Mom was already pushing him out the door. With one last yell of, "have fun!", the door was locked behind him. Collin was about to turn around and slam on the door until she opened it again, but the other two girls were standing right behind him.

"Hey there, new neighbor!" The shorter and tanner girl cried happily, causing a reaction in his hearing aid. He winced before looking at her closer.

She had bright green eyes and her hair in pigtails, and wore a lot of little bows. The other girl had dirty blonde hair and grey eyes, and wore a simple red and black high waisted-dress, with a pink cap on. "I'm Shauna, and that's Serena. What's your name?"

"Collin..." He uttered, avoiding eye contact. They hadn't heard him. Annoyed, he spoke louder. "Collin."

"Collin?" Shauna repeated. "That's a cool name!"

Serena was rubbing the bridge of her nose, eyebrows twitching. "Shauna, I think you're scaring him."

Scaring him? _She's freaking me out._ He thought, watching Shauna nod, a giddy smile on her face, backing up.

"Well, what do you want?" He didn't care how rude he sounded, he just wanted to push them away.

Serena paused, pushing some of her musty blonde hair out of her face. "Oh, it's a-"

"Surprise!" Shauna happily said. "We'll meet you in Aquacorde Town, Collin!" She bolted off, just like a little Pichu full of ecstatic energy. Serena followed, yelling at her friend to stop.

"Hey, wait a minute-" Collin started to follow them, but lost the two girls. He didn't know his way around the whole darn town, how the check was he supposed to get to the next one?

* * *

Since his Mom wouldn't answer the door, he had to ask the locals how to get to Aquacorde Town, which he hated. An elderly man laughed, then pointed at the gate, explaining there was a small walkway that led to Aquacorde Town.

He thanked the man and left. The gate was already opened, and bit was only a short, five minute walk to the next town.

The plants were still covered in the morning dew, and Pokémon that could fly chattered above his head. He liked nature, sure, and found himself lost in his own thoughts before arriving at Aquacorde Town. Taking a glance back, he sighed and continued on.

Aquacorde Town was a simple little town, with a shopping district and an abundance of cafes. Every building was made of a beige stone, and there was only cobblestone streets, as if it had jumped out of the Renaissance Era..._If Kalos even had one, _he thought.

"Collin!" Shauna's perky voice called out to him. He looked up and found her, Serena, and two other boys sitting at one of the multiple tables at a cafe. He hesitantly followed the shrill voice.

One of the boys was a heavy-set guy with a Vanillite on his shirt. His dark, spiked hair matched his dark eyes. The other was a short boy with orange hair that covered most of his face. He had dark grey eyes hidden behind glasses, and a camera around his neck. In Collin's opinion, the smaller boy resembled an orange flower.

"Hi there Collin, I'm Tierno." The bigger boy said.

"I'm Trevor." The smaller boy also said.

Collin nodded, not really caring. He took the seat next to Serena, relaxing a bit, but still stiff as a building.

"I bet you're curious to why you're here..." Trevor quietly said. Collin almost had to turn his hearing aids up to hear him. But that would also mean noises like Shauna's screaming and even the noise of the world around him would be amplified.

"Yeah." He felt uncomfortable the moment he sat down with these kids, but he felt something different. Even if there was something different, he didn't care. It was, most of the time, the people who were different that hurt him the most. Once he was able to return to his house he'd be able to live out his entire life. He'd be a website designer, maybe. Something that involved no direct contact with people.

"Wait, before we begin, Collin needs a nickname!" His head snapped up and he glared at Shauna.

"What?" He asked, rather harshly, but it seemed as if nobody noticed it.

"Maybe Big 'C?"

"Lil' C sounds better."

We're these people honestly debating whether or not to give him a nickname, right in front of his face? "I dunno, what do you think, Collin?"

"I think my normal name is fine." He replied, crossing his arms.

"But where's the fun in that?" The tanner girl whined, making Serena stifle a smile. "Big 'S, what do you think?"

Big 'S, who was apparently Serena, shrugged. "We shouldn't force a nickname on him...yet."

Yet?! Collin held a moan back, but he turned to Trevor and said, "Why am I here?"

Trevor, who was frightened by his tone, flinched. "Oh, um, you guys are going to get a Pokémon."

A Pokémon? His own Pokémon?_ Maybe it was worth coming out, for this, _he thought, watching Trevor bring out a box. Inside were three pokeballs, and he could see faint silhouettes of the Pokémon inside. "You go first, Collin." Serena said, patting him kindly on the back.

"You're just giving it to me?" Collin asked.

"If you want it, that is." Serena replied. "You don't have to have one if you don't want one."

Collin bit his lip and grabbed the one closest to him. The Pokémon seemed to cheer inside, but he played it off as his imagination. Serena grabbed for the middle, and Shauna grasped the last one. Tierno and Trevor, who already had theirs, joined in when all five of them threw the spheres into the air, watching a white light come out from each of them.

His Pokémon landed in front of him. It resembled a porcupine, with a tawny face and chest. It had green quills coming out of its back like little trees on a landscape, and looked up to Collin with bright eyes. "A Chespin," explained Trevor.

Shauna had a Froakie, a small blue frog with foam around its neck, Serena had a Fennekin, a small yellow fox with big ears, Tierno had a Corphish and Trevor had a Pikachu.

"Before you go," Tierno handed him a envelope and a small device, about the size of a tablet. "A letter from Professor Sycamore, and your very own Pokedex." Collin nodded, putting the stuff in his pocket. "Professor Sycamore has asked us to be his new students; the letter explains everything. Go home and get it to your Mom, and we'll all meet at Santalune Forest."

Collin wasn't sure how to handle the situation, but nodded and started to walk off back home, his Chespin close behind him, chattering quietly. The shrill voice of Shauna stopped him before he could even get out of town.

"Collin, I challenge you to a Pokémon battle!"


	2. Out In The World

**CHAPTER TWO: Out In The World**

* * *

Collin turned around, ignoring the urge to give Shauna a scowl that would send her running for the woods. He didn't want to battle; he just wanted to go home. Chespin tugged on his pant leg. The spikes on his head stiffened then relaxed, showing the energy he had and the need for a battle.

"Fine," he uttered. Chespin cheered before running in front of Collin, battle-ready and determined. Froakie, on the other hand, gave his own trainer a side glance before doing the same thing.

"This is gonna be my pokemon battle debut!" The other girl chirped happily, making a peace sign as if she were taking a selfie. Shauna smiled; Collin grimaced.

_What did I just agree to? _He wondered, waiting for Shauna to make her move. The girl chirped out, "Bubble!" before anyone could respond. Blue bubbles burst from Froakie's mouth and hit Chespin spot-on. However, it seemed as if little damaged was taken.

The boy glanced at the Pokedex, showing Chespin's moves, before saying, "Vine whip." Chespin charged, vines growing out of his back, and slapped Froakie twice before falling back to its trainer. It had way more effect than Froakie's bubble had on Chespin.

Shauna winced, but it didn't look like she was backing down. "Lil' Froakie, use pound!"

Now Collin was into the battle. "Chespin, look out!"

Chespin skillfully dodged the incoming pound, and Froakie nearly fell to the ground due to his own momentum. Standing back up, Froakie charged again at the grass type. Chespin, however, dodged again, wrapping vines around Froakie before throwing him towards the wall, knocking him out cold. Collin watched in awe- he won. He won his first Pokémon battle.

These few moments where Collin was happy, or excited, were very rare. He cherished the light feeling in his chest as Chespin jumped into his arms, hugging him.

The feeling soon faded. "That was amazing, Collin!" Shauna cried, returning her Froakie to the Pokéball. "You're, like, a natural or something!"

Collin nodded, uninterested in the world again. He was going to go home and stay there, forever, he decided. No more people. No more Shauna.

"We'll be waiting at Santalune Forest," Serena explained. "It's just outside of Aquadore, down that way." The dark-blonde girl pointed towards a bridge, over a river which separated Aquadore from the forest. Although he wasn't particularly interested, he nodded in understanding.

The pathway was the same as before, but this time, as the sun rose in the sky in early afternoon, the dea had dried, leaving a pleasant smell behind. Small bird Pokémon flew overhead, and Chespin taunted them, as if he was asking for a battle, not caring about his weakened condition.

Vanville was just as he had left it. Standing in front of his house, he sighed before knocking.

His mom came to open the door, not expecting her son to be there. "Oh, it's you, Collin." She said in a disinterested voice, nearly shutting the door on him, if his foot had not caught it.

"Mom, wait." Collin said, and pulled out the letter. "I've got-"

"Is that a Pokémon on your shoulder?" His mom suddenly burst out, causing a reaction in his hearing aids...again (as if Shauna wasn't bad enough). Chespin, who had been relaxing on Collin's shoulder, jumped and hid behind his head. Collin nodded.

"Yeah, it's about that." He closed the door behind him and handed his mom the letter from Professor...Syca...Sycamore. His Mom read the letter with great interest, commenting on the beautiful handwriting, before giving him a devious glare.

_Uh-oh..._He thought as a bag was thrown to his face.

"I've got an extra pair of clothes packed in there, a town map, some money, and your HoloCaster. Do you need anything else?"

"What? I don't even want to _go _on this journey, Mom!"

"You're going on it and that's that." His Mom said, rushing to the kitchen and pulling out bread and peanut butter to make a sandwich. "I refuse to let you sit in the house any longer. The only reason you'll be allowed back in is if…" She paused for a moment, listening to the silence of the house. "...If you get all the gym badges in Kalos!"

He moaned, and Chespin laughed at him. The sandwich, wrapped up in a plastic sandwich bag, was thrown at his face and he was pushed out the door without a second thought, again. Chespin, who sat on his trainer's hat looked at Andrew, the famous Rhyhorn, before jumping down and pulling his trainer's pant leg to move on.

"I'm never going to get back into that house, am I?" Collin asked himself out loud.

"Ches, chespin!" His pokémon replied, a determined gaze set upon the boy, but said boy didn't understand a word the pokémon said. He guessed it meant "yes you will" or something like that.

* * *

He found his "friends"- as they like to call themselves, anyway- waiting outside Santalune Forest. He already had to challenge a trainer on the way there, and was in a foul mood for everything that was happening today.

"Yay, Collin's here!" Shauna squealed. More reaction in his aids. Ugh.

"That means we can go in now," Tierno said, leading the way. Collin reluctantly followed, keeping his head down.

The forest was, by no means, small. The sky was barely filtering through the thick foliage- like Viridian City, where one of his dad's movies was shot once. Pokémon ambled through the bushes and trees, staring at the trainers below with malevolent, curious or devious glances. A Pikachu scurried in the branches above them. Shauna's mouth opened in awe.

"First one to the exit wins!" She exclaimed happily, her pigtails bouncing with her. The tan-skinned girl tightly grabbed Collin's arm before dragging him off. "You're with me!"

He didn't believe that it was a good idea to split up, but the challenge of getting there first was interesting to Collin. Even if it was with Shauna, who chattered about her own life, coming from an average family in Vaniville. He was jealous that her life was normal; he was born a deaf son of two prodigies in the world. Although technology was advanced enough to get him the help he needed to hear, he still had problems with not just his aids, but his family.

His mom had finally decided to stay at home in Kalos, but now that he's out on a journey she would probably take racing back up. His father was, well, who knows where, shooting a movie about some guy and a pokémon again.

And there was him. Collin. He didn't have any special talents, except for coding and hacking, and that required peace and quiet- and a computer, of course.

"Wait, Collin!" Shauna's hand reached out to stop the boy, as she squinted into the foliage around them. She disappeared for a second, but returned with a bottle. "I love puzzles, so I'm always looking at things closer than you think! Here, you can have this." Collin took the Paralyze Heal begrudgingly, throwing it into his bag.

Shauna smiled. "You're a nice guy, you know that?"

Collin held back the urge to laugh. He was a cynical person; he was the exact opposite of nice. A guy he knew- whatever his name was, he didn't care to learn it- compared him to anti-matter, or something like that. He was a grump, a grinch.

"Whatever," Collin commented instead of the impolite words floating inside his head, wanting desperately to be said. A loud crash was heard, and something came out in front of their path, and both teens stopped to admire the pokemon.


	3. Forest Shenanigans

**CHAPTER THREE: Forest Shenanigans**

* * *

"Fletch?" The little bird chirped curiously, looking at the two humans before her. Shauna and Collin, stood frozen, watching the Fletchling watch them. Shauna slowly brought out her pokédex.

_Fletchling, the Tiny Robin Pokémon. These friendly Pokémon send signals to one another with beautiful chirps and tail-feather movements._

She flapped her wings before taking off again. Collin let on a smile for a second before returning to a scowl. Shauna laughed, though she wasn't sure what she was laughing about.

The duo continued their trek through the forest, occasionally battling a wild pokémon or a trainer. Chespin was getting stronger, just like Froakie was. They ran into Trevor and Tierno or Serena once or twice, also. At one point Serena gave out Pokéballs explaining how to use them,

"Chespin, vine whip!" Collin commanded, and vines slapped the Pikachu silly, throwing him up into the air before landing harshly on the ground.

The trainer, a lass named Anna, with blonde hair (lighter than Serena's) pulled back into a ponytail, and a blouse and shirt, cried out, watching her Pikachu faint. "Pikachu!" She cried, rushing to her Pokémon's aid. She glanced to Collin, a wide smile on her face. "You're really good." She commented, returning her Pikachu.

Anna had left the other way when Shauna spotted it. "Coll, look, a Pokemon! I wanna catch it!" She approached the yellow pokemon, who was innocently strolling the woods. The bubbly teenager disappeared into the woods, leaving Collin alone.

After a few moments of admiring the peace and quiet of the nature around him, Collin sighed. "Shauna!" He groaned, following her into the foliage. The woods were huge- big enough to get lost in, even.

He wandered alone, Chespin beside him, looking for her. She couldn't have gotten this fat this fast, he mused. _Everyone's probably wondering where we are. _He thought dryly to himself, stepping over a fallen log.

"Shauna?"

Still no response came from the woods.

"Chespin?" His pokemon looked up to him with expectant eyes. Collin didn't know how to reply; the girl was nowhere in sight. What if something had happened to her? His mom told him to stay careful of the gangs and teams in other regions- could there be one in Kalos?

He shook his head, mentally laughing at his own thoughts. There couldn't be. At least, he hoped there couldn't be.

Ducking under low-swooping branches, he found himself eye-to-eye with a girl hanging upside-down. He took a step back in shock. "Are you okay?" He asked.

The girl opened her closed eyes. "Hmm?"

"Are you okay?" Collin repeated. He wasn't sure that hanging upside-down in the forest was good for you...Then again, he wasn't sure about much. He wasn't sure about the world.

"Yeah, I'm just thinking." She replied. "And...I got stuck in the tree." The girl laughed nervously before pointing to a bag, sitting off to the side. "Could you get my Pokemon out?"

Collin nodded, picking up the small bag. There was a camera and a couple of assorted Pokeballs in it, along with film. _A photographer, _he thought as he looked for the only Pokeball with someone in it. Releasing the pokemon, a butterfly-like one, with a purple body and red eyes, looked back to him.

"Hey, Zytha!" The girl called, and the pokemon- which the Pokedex identified as a Butterfree- turned towards the voice. She let out a few exasperated chirps before flying quickly to assist her trainer.

_Thud. _The girl landed on the ground harshly, but she stood up, not fazing her in the slightest. She pushed her dirty brown hair out of her face before turning to Collin. "Thanks, dude! By the way, what's your name?"

"Collin." He muttered in reply, averting the startling blue eyes of the girl.

"I'm Shea. Maybe we'll meet again. I gotta go!" After grabbing her bag, Shea disappeared into the woods, but not before she dropped a Pokeball. Curiously, he picked it up. His mouth told him to yell back to her, but his eyes told him she was already gone. Collin slid the Pokeball into his pocket- if they saw each other again, he would return it.

Chespin shrugged, and pulled on Collin's pant leg again, as if saying, _let's go. _He nodded, following the grass-type, until he heard a shrill scream. Shauna, he thought, and rushed to where the sound was coming from.

He found his friend screaming under the watchful gaze of a Pidgeotto. She held a Pikachu- the pokemon she was chasing after, he supposed- and her Froakie standing out before her in an attempt to protect her.

"Chespin, use your new move! Rollout!" Collin cried, and his Pokemon nodded, curling into a ball and rolling towards the bird at high speeds. He immediately ran to Shauna's side. "Are you okay?"

Shauna nodded. "Y-yeah. It came out of nowhere!"

He glanced at the Pokedex entry- _Very protective of its sprawling territorial area, this Pokémon will fiercely peck at any intruder. _The two of them had wandered into the flying-type's area on accident, and it seemed to be infuriated.

A gust of wind sent Chespin flying back to Collin. He reached for the Pokeball in his pocket, and Collin realized he had no other choice. The simple gust nearly took Chespin out, and if he wanted to continue, he'd have to find another option- or a potion. But he was fresh out.

The pokemon that came out was a small, black pokemon with white whiskers and beige eyes. It resembled a caterpie, a common Pokemon Collin had seen in Kanto- and the forest here, too- but it was nowhere near it.

"A scatterbug!" Shauna identified. "It probably knows string shot."

Collin nodded. He looked to the Pokemon- Shea's pokemon- and called out, "String shot!"

The Scatterbug complacently nodded, sending out sticky webbing towards the bird. Pidgeotto screeched as its wings were tied up with the sticky substance. Collin and Shauna quickly returned their Pokemon to the safety of the Pokeballs before sprinting as fast as they could away from the flying-type before it could break free.

After nearly tripping over roots to an ancient tree. they stopped, praying that it wouldn't chase after them. Shauna glanced back before looking to him. "Thank you so much! I would've almost died back there or something."

Collin winced at her voice, but nodded. "Yeah, sure. No problem." He stood up, rubbing the dirt of his pants, breathing heavily. _Why did I agree to this..._He thought. _I'm no good at physical activity. _Shauna had already started to walk ahead of him, chittering about an irrelevant topic again. _And why did I agree to go with her, of all people? _He added.

"Hey, Collin! Everybody's waiting for us!" He felt a hand grab his wrist and soon found himself being dragged by the strength that he hadn't expected Shauna to have. Sure enough, Serena, Trevor and Tierno were waiting for them.

"There you guys are." Serena said calmly. "We were wondering where you were."

"Well-" Shauna began, but her mouth was clamped shut by Collin.

"There was a little...detour…." He explained, not willing to hear the girl's shrill voice drone on again. It was giving him a massive migraine.

The other three nodded, before all five of them left the forest together.


	4. Santalune City and Traveling Buddies

**CHAPTER FOUR: Santalune City and Traveling Buddies!**

* * *

Collin seemed rather surprised by Santalune City. It wasn't that it was bigger than he expected, it was just that it was...More homely, he guessed. It had the beige buildings, just like Aquadore did, but they were closer together.

His mind wandered back to Shea as he followed the other four to the Pokemon Center. Surely she would be missing her Scatterbug right now. He would find her again, and return the bug-type.

That is, if he could find her.

'A simple walk' is what he called it. Collin shoved his hands into his pockets, looking around the city. He wanted to explore, but alone. Shauna's annoyed protests nearly brought her along, if it hadn't been for Serena coaxing her into going to the local boutique.

There were local and foreign trainers wandering the streets, too, and the sun was starting to set on the...crazy day he had. Collin looked over recent events- he got his first Pokemon. He made it to Santalune City. He trained his two Pokemon- even though one of them wasn't exactly _his._ He met these four- albeit crazy- teenagers who wanted him to come on the journey.

And he couldn't get back into his house until he got eight badges. _Darn it, _he thought angrily. How was he supposed to beat the eight gym leaders? They were the strongest trainers anyone had ever known. He couldn't be able to beat them...Could he?

Something crashed into his back, a loud snap echoing, and he tumbled to the ground. "Oh, god, I'm so sorry!" He opened his eyes, looking up to see Serena, holding her hand out to help him. Collin swatted it away, standing up and rubbing where the burning pain had begun.

"I didn't mean to run into you, Collin." Serena explained. "I just got these roller skates from a battle, and-" The roller skates on her feet seemed alien to her, even, as the blonde stuttered out her excuses.

"I'm fine." Collin said, throwing the girl completely off guard. She blinked at his response, unsure of what to say next.

"Just, I'm really sorry." She paused for a minute. "We should head back to the Pokémon Center; it's getting really dark out."

Collin glanced to the sky, nodding. The sun had set just moments ago and twilight was beginning to make its way through the sky. It was something he'd never would have seen if he spent his days locked up in his room, he mused, before looking at Serena's smiling face. "What?"

"Nothing." Serena shook her head, clearing thoughts Collin wanted to know. "Shauna rented some movies for us to watch back at the Center. I hope you don't mind the romantic comedies."

_Ah, yes. _He thought snidely. _My _favorite _kind of movie. _"Do you even know how to skate?"

Serena's face turned a deep shade of red. "Uh...Maybe? Sorta?"

Collin rolled his eyes, crossing his arms. "Don't keep your knees so stiff, Serena. It would be better if they were soft." Serena cocked her head, but nodded, following his advice. She soon managed to slide her way to the center, without running into someone else.

* * *

Romantic comedies aren't perfect for falling asleep to. Especially when you have a bubbly girl watching them, laughing at every other line. Collin buried his face in the pillow, trying to ignore Shauna's hysterical fits of squealing laughter.

A sudden idea came to him; a quick hand reached for his aids and turned them off. Sound dulled to nearly extinction. He was familiar with the silence- he got his aids when he was seven, and they broke occasionally. His mother tried to make him a Rhydon racer. It never turned out well.

With the silence, he was always able to think. All he heard was his own voice, in his head, which relaxed him.

It allowed him to think over what had transpired in just one day. His mother kicked him out- only being allowed back in with all eight gym badges. He had made 'friends' with other four people, who gave him a Pokémon. Shauna was obnoxious. Tierno was weird. Trevor...He was too shy for Collin to know anything.

Serena? The most normal one of the group, though she did come from a family of very experienced trainers. Probably an experienced trainer herself; just not with the pokemon to show it off.

A rough hand poked Collin in the side, and he quickly turned his aids back on. "What?"

Shauna's face, dimly lit by the light of the television, was only inches away from his face. She wore another, beaming smile on her face. "We were discussing traveling partners, Coll."

He raised an eyebrow in confusion, before sitting up. "Traveling partners?"

"You don't get out much, do you?" Tierno laughed, obviously joking around. Collin glared, before turning his attention to Shauna again.

"We're going to be heading our separate ways, after all. Wouldn't it be cool to have someone with you?" Shauna paused. "Though, one of us would have to go alone, don't you think?"

Collin's eyes lit up, but before he could volunteer, Serena spoke. "I'm fine on my own, you guys."

Shauna beamed. "Great! I'll go with Coll, and Trevor and Tierno can go together!"

"What?" Collin tried to protest, but they drowned him out. "I didn't agree to this-" Laughs echoed through the small room again, at something happening in the movie. He moaned, knowing that having Shauna with him wasn't going to end well.

* * *

"Are you going to challenge the gyms like Serena, Collin?" Shauna asked the next day, her high voice penetrating Collin's eardrums

"It's not like I have any other choice…" He muttered, staring down at his shoes.

"What?"

"I mean, yeah." He snapped up, before glancing back to her. "What about you?"

Shauna shrugged. "I dunno. Ser, Trevs and Tiernie all have dreams of their own…" She trailed off, resting her finger on her chin. She shrugged. "I'll find out sooner or later. So, aren't you going to challenge the gym in Santalune?"

_Right. _He winced as it was mentioned. Unless he wanted to be homeless for the rest of his life, a nomad cursed to forever wand Kalos, he needed to get the gym badges across Kalos. And Santalune City was only the first step.

"I need to train first."

Shauna grinned. "I know a perfect place for that."

Collin moaned as she grabbed his wrist, yet again, and dragged him off, past what he thought was the gym, and onto a route foreign to him, like anything else in the Kalos region...


End file.
